GU Alumna Nicole Bush Discusses Impact of Early Life Stress November 1

October 17, 2017

Alumna Nicole Bush Discusses Impact of Early Life Stress Nov. 1

How Early Life Stress ‘Gets Under the Skin,’
and What Should We Do About It?

SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga University’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry welcomes its first Distinguished Alumni Researcher, Professor Nicole Bush, to discuss “How Early Life Stress ‘Gets Under the Skin’ and What We Can Do About It” at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 1 in the Hemmingson Center Ballroom. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Exposure in early childhood to adversity such as poverty, family conflict and maltreatment is linked to documented mental and physical health outcomes later in life, and exposure during sensitive periods in development is particularly potent. In addition to sharing the current literature on early life stress and how it can adversely affect individuals’ health, Bush also will discuss emerging evidence for the potential to reverse these harmful effects.

Bush is an associate professor in the departments of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco medical research university. She is the associate director of research for the division of developmental medicine, where she studies prenatal physiological factors in mothers and their children. Bush is also a researcher with the newly funded Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program consortium, a national study designed to understand the impact of environmental exposures on child health and development.

Bush, who earned a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology from the University of Washington, graduated summa cum laude (1998) from Gonzaga with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in sociology. While at Gonzaga, she conducted undergraduate research with Nancy Worsham, professor of psychology. She has spent her professional research career examining how disadvantages and hardships during childhood impact adult health.

Gonzaga’s Center of Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry was established in 2016 by Gonzaga’s College of Arts and Sciences and is directed by Jeff Watson, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. The center’s main focus is to promote and expand undergraduate research and creative inquiry opportunities.